Florida is under siege — not from hurricanes or natural disasters, but from scammers and fraudsters who are robbing our citizens out of their hard-earned money, $866 million in 2024 alone. According to the Federal Trade Commission, the Sunshine State ranks first in the nation for victims of scams and fraud, with a staggering 2,163 cases per 100,000 residents.

In 2025, it is time for the federal government to get serious about protecting Floridians from these crimes. With President Trump and Republicans in control of Congress, we finally have the opportunity to do so.

Even Floridians who have not fallen victim to scammers will be familiar with their crimes. How many of us have received a fake text message claiming to be from SunPass warning about unpaid tolls and directing us to a fraudulent website designed to steal information and money? In February, Florida authorities announced they had shut down hundreds of these scam websites, but this specific con is just one battle in an ongoing war.

In addition to “imposter” scams where crooks pretend to be someone they aren’t, like SunPass, there are also romance scams or “pig butchering” schemes. Many of these crimes originate overseas and are run by criminal syndicates operating from lawless regions in Southeast Asia. In these scams, criminals slowly build relationships with their victims over texts and phone calls before requesting the transfer of huge amounts of money, often via crypto, and disappearing forever.

Beyond imposter and romance scams, there are scams about job offers, products sold online, and even scams where someone uses AI to pretend to have your loved one held hostage.

According to the FTC report, Floridians lost $45.7 million alone to fraudsters pretending to be affiliated with the government. This should be a call to action for Congress. When criminals impersonate government officials to defraud Americans, the real government has a moral obligation to act.

Of course, “how” Congress acts is important.

Last year, under Democrat leadership, the Senate put forward a soft-on-crime proposal that only a crook could love. The bill only focused on a small subset of these crimes and would have required private industry to pick up the tab for the criminals’ behavior. This so-called “solution” would have emboldened crooks by creating a steady pot of money for scammers to raid, and it would have done nothing to actually find and stop the crooks.

Thankfully, it is a new day in Washington. Under President Trump’s leadership, Congress can finally implement the tough, comprehensive legislation that Floridians need to get relief.

First, Congress must provide law enforcement with more resources and tools to find and prosecute criminals. The days of scammers operating with impunity must end.

Second, Congress and the entire federal government must do more to educate consumers about how to spot scams and what to look for when their phone rings, an email is received or a strange text pops up.

Third, Congress should establish a single, nationwide reporting system for scams. Americans currently face a confusing maze of agencies where fraud can be reported, from the FTC to the FBI to the CFPB to many more places. This fragmented approach has allowed criminals to exploit the gaps.

Finally, we must confront the global nature of this threat through targeted international pressure. Countries harboring these criminal enterprises must face real consequences.

Of course, this is not just a problem in Florida. It is a nationwide crisis. According to experts, 57,000 Americans fall victim to these scams every day. The elderly are particularly vulnerable, with those over 60 losing more than $33,000 on average.

While previous Congresses have failed to stop this problem, this Congress can act with real solutions and bold action that matches the issue’s urgency. America First must mean protecting American citizens from this ever-growing threat.

— Lou Marin is a retired U.S. Navy chief and a Gulf War veteran, and serves as executive vice president of the Florida Republican Assembly, a Judeo-Christian conservative organization dedicated to constitutional principles and America First values. He has fought for conservative causes in Florida since the Tea Party movement began.